Redwood stands tall in NCS baseball

Updated 6:58 pm, Tuesday, June 9, 2015

An old friend approached Mike Firenzi as his Redwood-Larkspur baseball team dog-piled on the infield late Friday night at San Rafael’s Albert Park.

Redwood (27-3) had just defeated Livermore 5-4 in the North Coast Section Division II final following a two-out, 11th-inning infield single by Adam Hussain that scored Riley Overend with the winning run. It was Redwood’s fifth NCS title, but first since 1997.

“I finally understand why you do it,” the friend told Firenzi. “After all these years, I get it.”

Firenzi understands people’s curiosity about the coaching life. For 30 years, the 1983 Redwood graduate has been paid no more than a modest stipend for a job that requires attention six days a week and six months out of the year.

To do the job right, anyway.

Firenzi has been nothing but right during his career, which featured four NCS crowns during 19 seasons at rival Marin Catholic-Kentfield.

He returned to his alma mater in 2011 and helped head coach Jeff Packman, who stepped down after last season. Firenzi, whose son Joey graduated in 2014, stayed aboard and rebuilt the program, which was a combined 37-37 the previous three seasons and finished sixth each year in the Marin County Athletic League.

“I give the kids all the credit. They could have bucked the system, but they all bought in,” Firenzi said. “I knew we could compete for a pennant, but to predict we’d win 27 games would be lying.”

Especially in the fashion they won. Friday was the team’s 11th one-run victory and epitomized its grit, coming back from 1-0, 3-1 and 4-3 deficits. The Giants tied the score in the bottom of the seventh on Erik Doctor’s double after a double by Hussain.

In the ninth, center fielder Hussain, who had four hits, made a spectacular diving catch, stranding a runner at second. Then in the 11th, his high chopper to third was fielded cleanly, but the throw was a step late to secure Firenzi’s 380th career win.

Firenzi was also greeted afterward by Al Endriss, who coached Redwood to NCS titles in 1977, 1978 and 1981. Endriss won 937 games between Redwood and College of Marin, and the 1977 team was named mythical national champs by Easton Bat Co.

“He just congratulated me and thanked me for helping to bring back the tradition,” Firenzi said.

“I’m never going to be rich, but you can’t put a monetary line on this job,” he said. “When you see kids work so hard to achieve a common goal, it’s gold.”

More gold: Three other MCAL teams won NCS baseball titles — Drake-San Anselmo (Division III), Justin-Siena-Napa (IV) and Branson-Ross (V) — giving the league four crowns, the first time a league has accomplished the feat. “That’s why so many of our games were close,” said Firenzi, whose team went 16-2 in MCAL play. “It’s always been a good league, but from top to bottom, this might have been the best. There were no layups.”

No gold: Dublin track and field coach Chris Williams indeed did fill out a protest Saturday when his 100-meter junior hurdler Mecca McGlaston was knocked off stride over the final hurdle following contact with Roosevelt-Eastvale senior Jasmyn Graham during the CIF state finals in Clovis (Fresno County). The USC-bound Graham won in 13.17 seconds to McGlaston’s 13.18, the two fastest times in the nation this year and No. 5 and 6 nationally all-time.

But no protest could be officially filed, officials explained to Williams, because no foul was called or yellow flag raised. Meet rules interpreter Hal Harkness said Tuesday that even had a flag been raised, coaches can’t protest a judgment call, but only a misinterpretation of a rule.

Williams doesn’t believe Graham intentionally made contact with McGlaston, the defending champion, but he felt that she initiated it and that it impeded his runner’s progress.

More on McGlaston-Graham finish at sfgate.com/sports/preps.

Mitch Stephens is a national columnist for MaxPreps.com. E-mail: mstephens@maxpreps.com Twitter: @MitchMashMax.